Use of markers to identify rows of garden crops and flower beds is well known. An early method involved simply inserting an empty seed packet into the cleft end of a stick, then inserting the other end of the stick into the ground proximate to the row of seeds. This method is unsatisfactory in that the packets when exposed to weather become soiled, wrinkled and torn, reducing or destroying readability.
The use as garden markers of wooden stakes bearing crop-identifying inscriptions is an improvement over the paper seed packet and stick. An example of such a stake is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 2,294,567 to Mooney granted Sept. 1, 1942. When exposed to the weather, inscriptions on the wooden stakes tend to become blurred and illegible. One attempt to solve this problem is by use of a transparent cellophane casing as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,181,977 to Magovern on Dec. 5, 1939.
Transparent materials have been used to envelope the seed label in an attempt to protect it from the weather. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,012,990 to Choate granted Sept. 3, 1935 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,333,302 to Enk granted Nov. 2, 1943, a framework supported by one or more metal legs inserted into the ground supports the seed packet, which is covered by a transparent material, for example celluloid. In the Choate device, the celluloid and the label or seed packet are slidably mounted within the framework, while in Enk, the transparent cover slips over the framework as well as the seed packet. The framework and legs comprise one piece of formed wire in Enk, while in Choate a sheet metal frame is welded to a metal supporting rod.
More elaborate devices involve a label supporting frame and platform obliquely mounted on a stake. U.S. Pat. No. 833,633 to Bateman granted Oct. 16, 1906 includes an inclined head and stake. A partial frame surrounds the head on the top and two sides. The frame retains an information-bearing card and a transparent protective strip over the card. U.S. Pat. No. 1,966,922 granted to Coleman July 17, 1934 is for a grave marker. A rectangular base plate is supported on a spike. Mounted on the base plate in ascending order are a waterproof material, an information card, a transparent panel and a rectangular washer, all held in place by a frame fastened to the base plate. Additional examples of inclined label supporting surfaces mounted with respect to a stake are seen in Design Patent No. D-186,779 granted to Borin on Dec. 1, 1959 and British Patent No. 1913 to Stewart-Wortley granted Feb. 11, 1885. Inclined surfaces direct the label face upwardly and expose it to rain, therefore requiring transparent covering means to insure satisfactory long-term use.
Design Patent No. D-170,936 to Pegram granted Nov. 24, 1953, shows a rectangular compartment suitable for holding a label supported by a downwardly converging leg. A scarecrow configuration extends upwardly from the label supporting compartment.